One Thousand Coffees
by writergirl41319
Summary: What if Castle had left with Gina, convinced that he had waited too long, and Kate would never fall for him like he had for her, and both had erased all of their memories of each other? That is, until that one day at that coffee shop, when they fell in love all over again...
1. Chapter 1

**One Thousand Coffees**

_A Castle Fanfiction_

A very distraught Katherine Beckett sat in a lounge chair by the window in a coffee shop in New York City after a long day at work. It had been one of the more trying days at the Twelfth Precinct of the NYPD, and all that the female detective wanted to do was get home, yet she was sitting at a coffee shop instead. That very coffee shop was the same place that she caught sight of a man after work one afternoon, just like this one. He was ruggedly handsome with brown hair and blue eyes, but he was nameless. She sat at the coffee shop every evening hoping that the man would show up again. New York was a big city, he could be anywhere.

"More coffee, Detective?" the barista asked.

Kate shook her head as she continued to look at the door. Sighing, she decided to give up. It had been weeks. The man was obviously not coming back. After collecting her things, she turned around and began the walk to the door. She looked down for just a second and ended up running into someone, causing the coffee she still had left to spill all over both of them.

"Oh, shit, I'm so sorry," Kate began, trailing off after she realized who it was.

It was him.

"No, I'm the one who should be apologizing. Here, let me help you with that," he offered as he walked her back inside. "I'm Rick Castle by the way."

"Kate. Kate Beckett," she replied, sliding into her leather jacket and zipping it up to hide the stain.

"I guess I owe you a coffee for that," he chuckled.

Kate looked up at him and raised her eyebrows.

"How do you suggest you'll get it to me?" she asked.

He shrugged as the two of them walked to the door.

"Well, I guess I could just meet you back here. Tomorrow?" he suggested.

Kate nodded, trying to conceal her feelings, but most likely failing at it.

"Show up around noon, I'll treat you to lunch while we're at it," Castle smiled as he walked in the opposite direction.

When Kate arrived home again, she went over the day's events. She wondered what it could lead to, if she was in for something more than just a lunch date. Unhooking the chain of her necklace which bared her mother's ring and taking off her father's watch, she sunk into her bathtub as the soapy bubbles absorbed into her skin. She picked up a copy of the book she was reading, _Heat Wave_, by… Richard Castle. Rick Castle. Coffee shop guy. The man who had shadowed her for years before.

"This isn't even real," she gasped.

How in the world was she supposed to go to lunch with the man that had practically written her life? She couldn't even believe she didn't recognize the name, or the face. She'd been in love with Castle before, or she thought she had. He ran off with his publisher, Gina, before Kate had her chance to say something to him. After that, Kate had erased everything about Castle from her memories. She wondered if he had recognized her. Had he erased her from his memories too?

Richard Castle unlocked the door to his loft, remembering when it used to be filled with excitement. The door stood for so much. It stood for the relationship he once had. He still kept a picture of his old partner, his muse, tucked away in a copy of his Nikki Heat novels. He picked up _Heat Wave_ and opened the front page. He'd forgotten about the picture, but the memories came flooding back when it fell into his lap. The face seemed familiar, like it was someone he'd seen that day. He turned over the piece of paper and on the back the name _Katherine Beckett_ was written. Katherine Beckett. Kate. Coffee shop girl. The woman who he'd shadowed years before. He loved Kate, he even told her that when she was shot. Castle waited for her, oh, he waited. He was in love with a woman that he swore didn't love him back. He realized he had no chance with her, so he ran away with his publisher and ex-wife, only to return to New York weeks later, remembering why he'd divorced her in the first place. Ever since then, he swore to block out everything about Kate, and he did. He cursed himself for not recognizing her today, for falling back down the same road he'd been down all those years ago. Then he realized that Kate hadn't recognized him either. Maybe she never would. This could be his second chance, a chance to make things right with her. He waltzed through his office and into his bedroom, where he fell into slumber, a new found excitement awakening inside of him to prove himself worthy to the female detective all over again.

Kate woke up the next morning, forgetting about work. All she could think about was Castle. She wondered if he'd made the connection like she had. Rolling out of bed, Kate struggled to find the will to go back to the coffee shop. She worried that she'd screw it up again, that maybe she still wasn't ready. It had been years, yes, but she'd convinced herself that he was gone and had forced herself to fall out of love with him. She hooked the necklace back around her neck and slid on the watch yet again. The one thing that hadn't changed about Kate was those two things. She wore them every day, even back when she and Castle had known each other. Looking at herself in the mirror, she straightened the collar of her white oxford shirt one last time before walking out the door. Would he even show?

Castle had spent the morning pacing around the loft trying to convince himself that this was a good idea. When he'd invited Kate to lunch, he hadn't even realized it was her. It was just another girl at a coffee shop. But no, Kate was so much more than that. Kate was… Kate. She was that one woman who had managed to capture his heart and held it tighter than any of his ex-wives had. He wanted Kate, but would she want to get back into what they could've had those three years ago? As he stood in the mirror, he found that all he really wanted was the remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating brunette back in his life. No matter how many times she'd hurt him, for some reason, he'd always come running back. After Demming, he was there. He even stood by her after the long term relationship with none other than Josh Davidson. Castle watched her drown herself in unhappiness every time she was with him for the longest time. He was there for her through it all. He didn't know why he stayed, but it was just something about her that kept him planted by her side. Maybe it was the fact that she smelled like cherries, or that to this day he still remembered her coffee order.

"This is a good idea," he told himself, just for reassurance.

And with that, Richard Castle was out the front door.

Kate waited at a table for two by the window. It was raining that day. She was still unsure about the whole idea of seeing Castle again, but when she saw him walking across the street to the shop, all of her fears were lifted away.

"I didn't think you'd show," she said after they sat down.

His face lifted a little at her statement.

"So you know then," he replied.

Kate nodded, taking a few moments to recognize how familiar his face was, how his features hadn't changed a bit.

"Yeah, Castle. I know," she said finally.

The former partners stood up and walked to the counter. Right as Kate was about to speak her order, still the same as all those years ago, Castle interrupted her.

"No, let me. One grande skim latte, two pumps of sugar free vanilla for the lady," he said.

Somehow, Kate was surprised that the writer still remembered.

"You didn't have to pay for it, I could've handled that myself," she smirked as they sat back at their table.

"You'll have many chances to repay me, Beckett. You do owe me about a thousand coffees after all," Castle smiled.

It had been years since the female detective had heard her last name roll off of Castle's tongue, and oh, how good it sounded to hear it once again. The pair began talking, and they sat at the table for hours, catching up and finding the differences and similarities between the people they were and who they had become. Castle said that Alexis had gotten her own place but came back around to the loft every once in a while and how his mother had gotten a great opportunity to run with a theatre group that toured year round. He was all alone, but maybe… just maybe this would be the turn around.

The next day, Kate woke to the sound of her alarm. She quickly threw on some clothes, barely bothered with her hair, and before even ten minutes had passed, she was out the door.

When she arrived at the Twelfth, Detectives Ryan and Esposito greeted her warmly. Everything was the same as it had been when Castle was around, except for the obvious.

"So you two won't believe what happened yesterday after I left," Kate said, making sure to keep her voice low so that their Captain wouldn't overhear.

Captain Victoria Gates was the only one who was happy to see Castle leave, as she'd never been a fan of having the writer in her precinct.

"Please tell me you're not stalking that guy from the coffee shop again, Beckett," Ryan joked.

She rolled her eyes at him, continuing to tell them of her encounter with Castle.

"Funny you mention that, Ryan. I know who he is, only minimal stalking required," she laughed, still attempting to keep her voice low. "It's Rick Castle. Rick Castle is coffee shop guy."

Both of the detectives stopped and stared at her.

"You're kidding, right?" Esposito muttered.

"The guy chooses now to waltz back into your life. Come on, Beckett, you know he's bad news. Or must I remind you of what happened three years ago?" Ryan sighed.

Kate's heart dropped a little. Obviously, the boys hadn't forgiven Castle for hurting her all those years ago. She hadn't even figured out how she'd forgiven him yet. Maybe it was the blue eyes, or the perfection of his hair; just the little things that she hadn't noticed before.

"I know you're not going to back away from this now, but please, for all of our sakes, be careful this time," Esposito warned.

Kate sulked through the rest of the day, just waiting for it to send so she could call Castle. They'd re-exchanged phone numbers again the day before, but she'd refused to use it until he did, though all she wanted at that moment was to hear the writer's voice. She wondered if he was thinking the same.

Castle woke up in the middle of his bed at the loft, rethinking the day before with Kate. It had been perfect, something he'd been wanting since day one. Keys jingled on the other side of the door to the Castle loft, his daughter stepping through the door.

"Dad?" she called. "I know it's early, I just felt bad for having not stopped by in a while. Are you here?"

Castle looked up at his daughter who had made her way over to his bedroom, her flaming red hair shining in the light.

"Hi, sweetie," he greeted her, patting down a space on his bed for her.

"Oh, Dad, you look like you've been to hell and back," she whispered.

"To be honest with you Lex, that's just about accurate," Castle muttered.

The red-haired girl curled up next to her father, resting her head on his chest. Alexis may have been in her twenties, but it didn't matter to her.

"What happened?" she asked, concern covering her face.

"It's nothing really, sweetheart. Just thinking about some things," he attempted to assure her, but to no success.

"Dad, please. I know you better than that. What's going on?" Alexis pried.

Castle sighed, giving in.

"I saw Kate Beckett yesterday. Ran into her at a coffee shop for the first time in three years two days ago… asked her to lunch for the next day before I realized who she was. I can't tell if this is bad, or very, very good."

Alexis' eyes got darker at the mention of Kate, and Castle knew exactly why. The thing was that Alexis didn't know the whole story of when her father ran away with Gina. Castle had spared her the dirty details. She knew that her father had been in love with Kate Beckett for years, convinced that she didn't love him back. She knew that her father was tired of waiting, but she also knew that Kate wanted nothing more than to be with him. She wasn't stupid. She watched them together; she knew what they could've had.

"Alexis, I know this is insane, but I think this is just the universe's way of telling me that Kate may just be the one. I mean, she was the one who said third time's the charm, right? Who knows, Lex? Maybe I just didn't wait long enough."

Castle's eyes lit up as he talked about Kate, and Alexis took note.

"Go for it, Dad. Just do it," Alexis smiled.

Castle smiled back at his daughter, who kissed his cheek and was back out the door within two minutes.

After one of the longest days, Kate fell into her bed and retrieved her phone from her pocket. Scrolling through her contacts, she finally found the one she was looking for. Dad. Almost reluctantly, she pressed the call button. Jim Beckett answered on the third ring.

"Jim Beckett," he answered.

"Hi, Daddy," Kate replied slowly.

"Katie," Jim breathed.

The older Beckett hadn't heard his daughter's voice since Castle had left her.

"Yeah, Dad. I hate to call you out of the blue like this, if you're busy, I'll just… call again tomorrow," Kate said as she fumbled with her words, instantly regretting the decision to call her estranged father.

"We both know you won't call me back tomorrow, Katie. Either way, I'm not busy. Why did you call?" he said, sounding slightly frustrated.

Kate thought for a minute. Why did she call?

"I just… I needed you, Daddy. I saw Rick Castle again two days ago. Three years and we run into each other at a coffee shop, how ridiculous is that?" she sighed.

There was a small silence on the other end of the phone.

"Not this character again. Do you or do you not remember what that son of a bitch did to you? I haven't heard from you in three years and this is what you call to tell me, Kate?"

Jim Beckett's voice was rising, making Kate even more tempted to just hang up and have done with it, but she stood her ground.

"I just needed someone to talk to about this, Dad. You know, everyone's walked out on me. Even Kevin and Javier don't look at me the same. But fine, if this is how you want to act, maybe I'm better off without you. I've been fine for the past three years, haven't I?"

And with that, she pressed end, and the line was dead. She regretted it, but she just couldn't hide her anger. It was true though, everyone had walked out on her, even Castle. But now, here he was. Richard Castle, in all of his glory, just a phone call away. Just a car ride to his loft, where she could be with the one person who had walked back into her life and treated her the same way, as if he'd never left. Without thinking, the phone was back in her hands, and Castle's number was being dialed.

"Rick? I need you."

A/N: Like what you read? Multi-chapter if you want more. Let me know! x


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Hello Readers! Normally I'll put my notes at the end, but I feel like I needed to address a few things before the next chapter. Through all of your reviews (thanks for that by the way!), I got a few comments with some concern about the story line. First of all, I would like to address that this story's past is set at the end of season two, yet after Kate's shooting. Someone had brought up that it would be unlikely for Castle to run with Gina again, and yes, I completely agree, but I guess this person didn't catch on that it hadn't happened before, and that this was the first time it had happened. Another reader brought up how they didn't like Esposito and Ryan's reaction, and all I can tell you is, keep reading, because that has an interesting turn out that I think you'll enjoy. So, now that those things are cleared up, here's the second chapter, per your request. Enjoy!_

**One Thousand Coffees**

_A Castle Fanfiction_

**Chapter 2**

Castle sat alone in the loft that evening. It had become a usual occurrence for his mind to drift off and think of Kate. In the midst of his thought, his phone started ringing from his bedside table.

"Castle," he answered.

The voice he heard on the other end was unexpected.

"Rick? I need you," said Kate.

She sounded like she was hurting, but the one thing that Castle was stuck on was that she had called him. She'd called him over Esposito, or Ryan, or even her father.

"What's going on?" he asked.

She gave little to no explanation, just that she'd called to talk to her father but it didn't go over well, and that she'd explain more when she got there.

Kate swept in the doors of the loft within five minutes of the phone call. Surprisingly, she still knew her way around the Castle loft. She made her way to the bedroom where she saw Castle waiting for her. She was reluctant to go to the bed, and it showed.

"Come on, we'll go to the couch," Castle offered, practically leaping off of the bed.

Smiling, Kate followed him through his office and into the familiar living room. She sat there, watching Castle move through the kitchen.

"It's not going to be your latte, but you look like you could use some coffee. You want anything else?" he asked.

"So I now owe you one-thousand and two coffees now? They're just adding up!" she laughed. "But no, Castle, I'm fine."

He laughed, too; the laugh she had come to miss.

"So your phone call was a little worrying. What happened?" he asked.

He sat down next to the female detective, who still looked a little shaken, but she had definitely settled down since her arrival at the loft. Her eyes darted at the mention of the issue, but her body language remained the same. Something in his eyes, though; it just comforted her, told her that she could let him in again.

"I called my dad to tell him about, well, this and he told me to walk away while I still could for the most part. I haven't exactly talked to him since you left," she explained.

Castle's eyes softened, but he didn't say anything. He wrapped his arm around Kate and pulled her close to him.

"Castle…" she murmured.

"Don't talk, just sleep, Kate," he replied.

The brunette closed her eyes and lay motionless against the writer. Castle felt her breathing as he ran his fingers through her hair until she fell asleep. He'd missed this, just being near Kate, even if it was just for work. Her absence had taken a toll on him, too. He missed shadowing her every day, the daily phone calls saying that there was a murder, giving her a hard time, the cute face she made while she was studying the murder board, and especially the way her face lit up when he brought her a cup of coffee.

It was about one in the morning when Kate woke up again. She didn't know where she was at first, but remembered when she felt Castle's grip tighten around her when she almost fell from the couch.

"I should go, Castle," she said softly.

He looked for an excuse for her not to leave, but he was having trouble finding one.

"It's late, maybe you should just stay. You can borrow one of my shirts, sleep in my bed. I'll just take the couch," he said before he thought it through completely.

"I can't, not tonight. I've got to be at the Twelfth early tomorrow," she said as she walked back through the office to retrieve her bag.

"Until tomorrow, Kate," he called after her.

"Night!" she said back.

The next day at the precinct, Kate was almost falling asleep at her desk and the morning had barely begun.

"Long night?" Ryan asked.

"You could put it that way, yes," she sighed.

"Yo, Beckett," Esposito called from his desk. "We've got a case."

The team walked to the elevator, all three of them preparing themselves for what was to come.

When they arrived at the crime scene, Kate saw that the press had already arrived, along with the medical examiner, and Kate's best friend, Lanie Parish.

"What do we have?" Kate asked as she approached her friend.

Lanie looked up at her and gave a look that signaled that this case was nowhere close to good.

"Female, fifteen, Jane Doe," Lanie listed.

Kate examined the body. There were lacerations all over, not to mention signs of strangulation and a hell of a lot of bruising.

"Signs of sexual assault?" she asked.

Lanie shook her head.

"I'd have to check once I got back to the lab. There are so many marks on this body that I can't even determine cause of death. Your time of death is going to be somewhere around four this morning," she informed the detectives.

Kate nodded reluctantly, telling uniforms to canvas the area before heading back to the Twelfth. When she got there, she did a search through missing persons. Normally, she would've assigned this task to Ryan, but something told her she should take this one into her own hands. She was sitting in front of that computer for what seemed like hours, and all she wanted was to see Castle again. The way she felt for the writer was even more than what it was three years ago, even more than it had ever been, all after reconnecting at a coffee shop. She wondered if it was just coincidence. Picking up her phone and taking a quick break, she sent a text to Castle: _You. Me. Coffee shop. I'm off in two hours. _He responded quickly with a yes, which took the edge off of Kate's shoulders as she turned back to face her computer.

"Beckett, I think we've got an ID," Esposito said, tossing the victim's wallet to her.

The victim's name was Angelina Marks. Kate entered the name into missing persons, and sure enough, their victim was there. She'd been missing for over a month.

"Damn," Kate muttered.

There were no trails, no clues, nothing. They didn't even have a cause of death. They were at square one. First thing was to call next of kin, but she left that to Esposito since she was off the clock.

"Where you gotta be, Beckett?" Esposito asked as he watched Kate walk to the elevator.

"Coffee date with you know who, Javi," she called back, watching as a disapproving look appeared on her friend's face. "Get rid of the look. I'll see you tomorrow."

When Kate arrived at the coffee shop to see that Castle was already there, her mood was instantly lifted. She saw him sitting at the same table they sat at the other day. She slid into the chair across from Castle as his eyes met hers.

"How was work?" he asked.

"Same old, same old. We've got a new case, it's pretty brutal. I hate to admit it, but I kind of miss having you around all the time," she admitted.

"Is that so?" he pressed.

Castle winked at her as she laughed, finding that she was actually glad that they had ended up running into each other and that it wasn't someone else that she'd been trying to find in the weeks before.

"How are Ryan and Esposito? It's been a while," Castle inquired.

"Um, well, they're good. I told them about seeing you again," Kate said slowly.

"Oh? How did that go?"

Kate could tell that Castle didn't expect a good answer.

"They weren't all that excited to say the least," she mumbled.

Castle expected as much. After what had happened before he left, he didn't expect either of the boys to want to be around him. After all, he had just left leaving little no explanation as for why. Not to mention he'd hurt Kate by leaving, and they both thought of her as a sister; they wouldn't put up with it.

"Well, maybe someday we can look past all of that, catch drinks with everyone from the Twelfth or something," Castle shrugged.

"You think Gates would want to join _you_ for drinks?" Kate joked, causing Castle to crack a smile.

"Well, we just wouldn't extend the invitation that far," he chuckled.

The pair sat at the coffee shop for a while, just enjoying each other's company, wanting nothing more than to stay there for as long as they possibly could. When the shop was closing, Kate offered to take Castle back to her apartment, which he accepted. When they arrived, Kate ordered Chinese and Castle made his way to her wine cabinet, also finding two glasses and a bottle opener.

"So, you know how you were saying that you wish I still shadowed you sometimes?" Castle said.

Kate turned to face him. What did he have in mind?

"Yeah, sure," she began.

"Well, I was thinking. What if I started writing Nikki Heat again? You know, I never did give her a proper ending," he suggested, looking at the female detective with the face that he knew was irresistible to her back in the day.

"Castle… Gates would never go for it. You don't have the relationship with her like the one that you and Montgomery used to have," Kate replied.

Her heart twitched at the sound of her former captain's name rolling off her tongue. It was unfamiliar to her at this point, almost forgotten, like Castle had been before a few days prior.

"I'm still close with the mayor, we could find a way around it, Kate," Castle said.

He was determined, acting like he really wanted to be back at the Twelfth. Not that Kate didn't want him there, she did; she just wondered how her colleagues would react to it. What she really needed was to get Lanie's opinion of it all; however, all that mattered at that moment was her evening with someone she cared about. It was all great until they heard a knock on the door.

"Beckett, its Esposito," a voice called from the other side of the door.

Kate shot Castle a 'run and hide' look as she began the walk towards the door.

"Becks, come on, it's case related, we gotta talk," Esposito yelled again.

Kate swung the door open and Esposito's expression changed immediately.

"Castle? What the hell?"

_A/N part two: Leaving it there for now! Got such a brilliant response today/yesterday that I felt like I had to give you a quick update, so here it is! Again, let me know what your thoughts are and what you would like to see in the upcoming chapters. Thanks! x_


End file.
